Report: Gulen Nudibranch Safari

Day 3

Day three of the Gulen Nudibranch Safari featured a boat ride to the west up to Buefjorden, where there is a large rock pinnacle. This has caused two wrecks and is surrounded by kelp, soft coral and anemone gardens, making for a great underwater scenery.

Image courtesy of Bjørnar Nygård

Naturally the group’s focus was on finding and identifying more nudibranchs, but the site was also blessed with great visibility, making me glad of my decision to switch to shooting wide angle for the dive.

It was very scenic.

Gulen has a large dive boat, which can travel long distances quickly. It is equipped with a stern lift, which eases the task of clambering in and out of the water easier.

Image courtesy of Christian Skauge

Th afternoon dive was back on the Gulen house reef. It really is quite amazing just how many nudibranchs there are just about everywhere.

Once you have your “nidi-eye” in, they can be found all over reef. It is interesting to compare this with my previous visit to Gulen.

Image courtesy of Bjørnar Nygård

On that occasion, I was here later in the year, and although there were many nudibranchs, there are a lot more here now. Chatting to Ørjan Sandnes, Monica Bakelli and Christian Skauge, owners of Gulen Diver Resort and event organiser respectively, it seems that this seasonal variation is typical and that hosting the Safari in early March takes advantage of the increased numbers of animals that are here.

Image courtesy of Bjørnar Nygård

As I write, some of the team are doing a final night dive on the house reef. The “hit list” is now up to 44 species. Today’s big finds are two very rare species: Eubranchus vittatus and Eubranchus doriae. Both of these species have only been seen in Norwegian waters a handful of times.